My most recent books are the Leader's Guide to Radical Management (2010), The Leader's Guide to Storytelling (2nd ed, 2011) and The Secret Language of Leadership (2007). I consult with organizations around the world on leadership, innovation, management and business narrative. At the World Bank, I held many management positions, including director of knowledge management (1996-2000). I am currently a director of the Scrum Alliance, an Amazon Affiliate and a fellow of the Lean Software Society. You can follow me on Twitter at @stevedenning. My website is at www.stevedenning.com.

The Reading You Need For The Holiday Season

This column will be taking a hiatus during the holiday season. It will resume on Monday January 7, 2013. In the meantime, here’s some reading you might like to catch up on.

Some books I flagged during the year

Of all the business books published during the year, this one had, for me at least, more insights per page than any other. It’s filled with passion, innovation, freedom and values: Gary Hamel’s What Matters Now.

Despite the title, management isn’t a myth, but this book does expose quite a number of dangerous myths along the way: Matthew Stewart’s The Management Myth.

The army shows here that they know how to be agile on the battlefield. Mission Command Manual 2003. If only they would implement it throughout the entire military! (There’s a later version of the manual than 2003 but for some inexplicable reason, it lacks the brilliant chart that explains the paradigm shift.)

Still struggling with too much clutter? No problem. Follow Matthew May’s six simple rules for doing better with less: The Laws of Subtraction

A requiem for Sandy Hook

Faced with last week’s unspeakable evil at Sandy Hook, who can disagree with Michael Bloomberg that inaction ‘will be a stain upon our nation’. Yet we are not alone in confronting the depths of darkest despair. Johann Sebastian Bach’s Mass in B Minor, “the greatest musical work of art of all ages and of all peoples,” persuades us not by fear but by joy to confront the darkest parts of ourselves, to set aside petty compromise and to create a thrilling world of human flourishing. Precisely the kind of advice that we need at this time. If you can’t hear it live, get the Karajan version.

The best book of the 20th Century

“Dante and Shakespeare,” said T.S. Eliot, “divide the modern world between them. There is no third.” Wrong! With his vast masterpiece, In Search of Lost Time, Marcel Proust claims at least an equal third. It takes a while to get the hang of it, but once you are there, you are in for life-changing experience. Forget the blatherings of politicians and the television commentariat. Open this book at any page, and you find yourself in communication with the essence of intelligence and ethical delicacy. Best of all, it’s also full of sex and very funny. Get the translation revised by D.J.Enright.

Having gotten off to a flying start, the Stoos network is now setting its goals higher. The network aims at transforming organizations in the private and public sector into learning networks of individuals creating value where the role of leaders includes the stewardship of the living rather than the management of the machine. It operates as

(1) a grassroots movement aimed at mobilizing individuals to identify, generate and disseminate ways of creating the necessary paradigm shift in organizations;

(2) a “movement of movements”, aimed at linking up with and reinforcing other similar movements to accelerate the pace of change;

(3) actions aimed at identifying and demolishing the intellectual underpinnings of the organizational status quo and creating alternative frameworks more aligned with the goals of Stoos and

(4) targeted interventions aimed at institutions that hold the status quo in place, such as business schools, that can accelerate the transformation of their mode of operation to be more aligned with the goals of Stoos.

You can join the Stoos network here and learn how to participate in Stoos Connect on World Stoos Day on January 25, 2013 here.

Want still more?

Breathe and sleep deeply

After all that, maybe you’re finding it tough to fall asleep? No problem! Shed your jet lag and take this antidote in the form of Steve Wolf’s Yoga Nidra. This CD will help you sleep under even the most exasperating conditions. Great for anyone who travels a lot and spends time waiting in airports in frustrating queues. These practices help regain a sense of equanimity. Get it here.

See you on January 7.

Happy holidays and a wonderful new year!

PS. Got any other good suggestions for holiday reading? Love to hear from you!

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